When a computer system crashes, the system must be recovered before it can again be used. Such recovery is typically accomplished by reinstalling all the files and directories that comprise the “disk image” that was originally provided on the computer system. Before that can be done, however, the user must obtain a copy of the disk image to provide to the computer system.
Manufacturers often provide their customers with recovery solutions with which the customers can recover their computer systems. For instance, some manufacturers provide disk images that may be downloaded from the Internet and used with an appropriate delivery mechanism to recover a given computer system. The delivery mechanisms that may be used depend upon the nature of the computer system that is to be recovered. In some cases, a computing device can be recovered using a variety of delivery mechanisms. For example, a given computing device, such as terminal computer, may be recovered using any one of a bootable compact disc (CD), a bootable flash device, or a file-based process, such as a pre-boot execution environment (PXE) process.
Because each delivery mechanism is different, manufacturers have had no choice but to customize each recovery solution for the particular delivery mechanism that is to be used to perform the recovery. Therefore, if a situation exists in which more than one delivery mechanism is available for a given computer system, the manufacturer may choose to create a separate, specialized recovery solution for each delivery mechanism.
Development of multiple specialized recovery solutions wastes time and resources. Therefore, it would be desirable to have a single recovery solution that is adaptable so as to be available for use with multiple delivery mechanisms.